I JEN NEH
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IJenNeh pronounced “eye gin nay” means heaven in Lasana Kanneh's native dialect of Mandingo. IJenNeh is a tasty mix of African, reggae, pop, and gospel music. IJenNeh evolved from the previous music groups of Inspirational Echoes of the Blind, Liberian Acappella and African Gospel Acappella.
The group Echoes of the Blind, originated in Monrovia, Liberia. This group was composed of blind men and women who sang for money on the war ravaged streets during Liberia's civil war. Lasana was the lead singer and director. Lasana remembers singing in the midst of rebel fighting with bullets flying over their heads. At different points, he was forced to sing for infamous war lords. Lasana recalls this story during one fierce period. A rebel solider threatened my life to be killed solely for the reason that I was blind. I got on my knees and started begging for my life and that is when God intervened. I have many other stories of how God kept me alive during that brutal war. Liberian Acappella was a group of ten Liberian men, who by providence traveled out of West Africa and toured 46 states in 4 years. The goal of this group was raising funds for the orphans left back in Liberia. The group toured most of the mainland United States and went to hundreds of churches from 1998 to 2002. 
One of the memorable times of this group was singing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee for a crowd of over 20,000 people. Lasana was the lead singer for this group and the group sang many of his original songs.
Lasana's next group was the African Gospel Acappella, consisting of 6 blind men from the original two groups. This group toured the West Coast for 4 years and you can still hear Lasana’s distinctive lead vocals on their cds. Lasana has participated in reunion concerts with African Gospel from time to time. |
While the former groups were acappella, Lasana decide to take a new turn with his music by adding instruments. This was natural for Lasana as he has always been a percussionist and African drummer. He learned rhythm and African beats from his friend at the School for the Blind in Monrovia.
Lasana teamed with fellow musicians to add bass, keys, guitar, and the drums to create a new style of music. With the help of his friends, Lasana developed an original style that cannot be contained in any one genre. Soaring vocals, simple melodies, killer bass lines, African drums, and rhythmic keys highlight this special music. Lasana suffered much in his native homeland of Liberia. He was born blind and ostracized by his father for his disability. His father felt that his son would not be useful to society and encouraged his mother to get rid of him. His mother heard about the school for the blind in Monrovia and took him there. He was eventually abandoned by his family at the school. But God intervened and sent an evangelist who took him home and preached the good news to him. He readily believed the Word of God and put his trust in Jesus. He went to church after that and was moved by the music. When he returned home, he got down on his knees and prayed to God, "Lord, I don't want to sit around. I want to tell others about you. If you bless me with the gift of music, I will use it for Your Glory." God blessed Lasana with the gift of music and from that point on, he was spiritually empowered. Lasana has endured war, persecution, poverty, abuse, rejection, and personal failure. His trials inspired him to create beautiful songs of faith, hope, and restoration. From ashes rises beauty, so is Lasana's story. Enjoy this beautiful African music that is good for your soul! |